Have you ever made these 3 Appraisal mistakes?

Chances are if you’re a manager you have to complete Annual Performance reviews or appraisals every year with your team, and chances are they’re not top of your list as something you love to do. Yes, they may take time, and yes involve preparation and paperwork, but yes done properly they do have a benefit.

This is something I get asked about all the time, so I want to save you some valuable time and go through the top 3 mistakes managers make when conducting Performance Reviews.

Mistake #1 – The form dictates the discussion. You have a form to complete and not only do you start at the beginning of the form and work methodically through each question until you get to the end, where you both sign the form and go on your way OR you fill in the form beforehand.

What you should do instead

By all means complete the form, but use it for guidance to the conversation. Talk about what well, what could’ve been improved, what challenges they’ve faced , what support they need for the coming year, and what development needs they have. Once you’ve had a good chat you can refer back to the form and fill in the blanks. You’ll probably have found that you’ve covered a lot of what needs to be discussed naturally.

Mistake #2 – You do all the talking. A good thing to ask yourself before the appraisal is who is this for really? Yes, it benefits you as the manager as it enables you to talk through feedback, motivate and develop, but it is much more about the employee. It is their chance to have one to one time with their manager and they should be given the opportunity to voice their opinions, talk through any concerns and ask any questions they may have.

What you should do instead

Ask open questions throughout the meeting:- What, Where, How, When, Who. These will keep the conversation flowing.

Mistake #3 – You keep re-arranging the meeting. Something crops up that needs your attention, so you re-arrange the meeting. Unfortunately it keeps getting re-arranged over and over again.

What you should do instead

Put the date in your diary and stick to it. If the Appraisal is really that important than prove it by giving it your undivided attention. Rearranging the meeting sends the message that it really doesn’t matter – or worse still that they don’t matter.